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User blog:Azza Bamboo/A Rumination on the Interpretation of Ancient Myth in Modern Times
I was contemplating potential encounters for a hypothetical future dungeons and dragons game when I began to think upon the potential uses for petrification. To preserve life or perishable matter in stone, or what you could call "cryptopreservation", could have far reaching implications for a world without refrigeration technology (at least beyond the basic handwaving of "it's magic!"). A Gorgon, for example, could be a gateway into the future if only a petrified specimen could be awoken centuries after their meeting her gaze. It would be Futurama or Vanilla Sky in stone. Those are modern concepts, though. To deliberately freeze yourself to access the advanced future are thoughts people of our time have done to death in our media. The closest contemporary comparison to the ancient Greeks that I am aware of would be Egyptian myths of mummification and resurrection. It's doubtful that it was ever written that mummies would awaken to find their world had advanced technologically beyond all recognition, or that they'd have a sassy robot friend, but this is the direction my thoughts were headed in when I thought about turning a man to stone. Rather than attempt to be puritanical, I embrace the novelty that a modern gaze can bring upon this wondrous creature of ancient myth. I looked more closely at this Gorgon. I was willing to overlook my initial questioning of how exactly the digestive systems of numerous snakes work exactly, and whether the Gorgon's inner skull is the end point. I was not willing to overlook another question. Do gorgons have armpit snakes? After all, if their hair is replaced with serpents then it must be considered in all places a humanoid can grow hair. I asked this question in numerous spaces, and the answers I got ranged from a postmodern "if you want them to" to a more audience focused "this is medieval fantasy, as if women have any hair below their head!" I suppose your medieval fantasies differ from mine, but whatever it is we find aesthetically pleasing, we can all agree that snakes in certain places could be uncomfortable. Although in the myth itself this creature was supposed to be monstrous and a danger to all, it is written that medusa at least was beautiful enough to have person after person lusting for her. Whether that speaks for her beauty or for the human libido I do not know. Either way it'd be enough to create a vast cryptopreservatory of creepers and admirers in her lair. Mainly those who wanted the known snake haired lady and who had travelled for miles to witness her would be sealed away to this day. The world they'd awaken to now would surely be accepting of them: one where dangerous monsters are to be desired, not feared. It was the fate of medusa that she would foolishly witness her own reflection, and be herself preserved in stone alongside her admirers. In my reflecting upon my desire for a beautiful creature with armpit snakes, my self, and its admiration, as well as the subject of those admirations, are here preserved for others to discover in the future. Category:Blog posts